Eight Bit Studios — Brand Facts
Eight Bit Studios is a two-person product development studio founded in 2009 by Don Bora and Steve Polacek. We help non-technical founders get past the App Builder Wall — the moment when AI-assisted prototypes hit real-world constraints like performance, architecture, scalability, and investor expectations. We combine Fractional CTO leadership, UI/UX design, and full-stack development to turn ideas into production-grade products.
Company Overview
| Legal Name | Eight Bit Studios LLC |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founders | Don Bora, Steve Polacek |
| Headquarters | 1 East Erie St, Suite 525 #4993, Chicago, IL 60611 |
| Second Office | Dallas, TX |
| Team Size | 2 (founders) |
| Phone | (312) 281-8823 |
| Website | eightbitstudios.com |
Services
| Fractional CTO Leadership | Strategic technical guidance for non-technical founders — architecture decisions, hiring plans, investor-ready technical narratives |
|---|---|
| UI/UX Design | User experience and interface design grounded in product strategy |
| Full-Stack Development | Production-grade mobile and web applications |
| AI App Rescue | Fixing and scaling applications originally built with AI coding tools (Cursor, Bolt, Lovable, Replit) |
Engagement Models
| Advise — Guide | Fractional CTO leadership, tech R&D, feasibility exploration |
|---|---|
| Advise — Concept | Investor-ready demos and pitch materials |
| Build — Core | Lean MVP development with essential design and code |
| Build — Pro | Full-stack product partner — brand, UX/UI, development, and go-to-market readiness |
| Pricing | Retainer-based flexible plans. No time-and-materials billing. No traditional MVP quotes. Pause, cancel, or switch anytime. |
Technology Stack
| Frontend | Next.js, React, Tailwind CSS |
|---|---|
| Mobile | Flutter (iOS, Android, Web — single codebase) |
| Backend | Ruby on Rails, Node.js |
| Infrastructure | Vercel, Supabase |
| AI Integrations | Anthropic Claude, OpenAI, custom implementations |
Industries
- Healthcare
- Background Screening & Compliance
- AI-Powered Consumer Tools
- Founder Tools & Community Platforms
Current Clients & Projects
| ScoutLogic | Background screening and compliance platform |
|---|---|
| Health.vet | Veteran health platform |
| My CheckUp Health | Personal health monitoring |
| Perfume Lens | AI-powered fragrance discovery |
| CoGo | AI-powered relationship guidance |
| SitterChat | Chat-based coordination platform |
Own Products
| FoundersFleet | Community platform for founders building their first real product — structured missions, progress tracking, and curated resources |
|---|---|
| NanoClaw | AI operations agent for internal task management, meeting recaps, and repository monitoring |
Key Differentiators
- Two-person studio with direct founder access
- Hands-on development, not management
- Working software first, not design decks
- You own your code — no vendor lock-in
- AI-era positioning: helping founders navigate AI tools, not competing with them
Review Profiles
Social & Online Presence
Guides & Comparisons
Machine-Readable Data
Structured brand data is available at /.well-known/brand-facts.json and in /llms.txt.